Health Minister, Sir Molwyn Joseph, has raised alarm over the rise in workers
getting ill from inhaling noxious fumes at various work sites.
Sir Molwyn’s concerns came in light on an incident at Fitches Creek on
Wednesday following which one man died and another warded in the Intensive
Care Unit at the Sir Lester Bird Medical Centre in what the EMS suspect was a
case of carbon monoxide poisoning.
The men – who were related and who hail from the Five Islands community – were
apparently pumping water from a cistern at a house in Fitches Creek, when the
younger of the two, Amin Martin, who was inside the cistern where the water
pump was located, fell ill. His older family member, Henry Richardson, attempted
to rescue him but he too fell ill. Both men belong to the Richardson family of Five
Islands.
The EMS, fire and search and rescue units were summoned and both men were
pulled from the cistern. Martin, said to be age 39, died at the hospital, while
Richardson, believed to be in his 60’s, has since been in the ICU.
According to the Cabinet Notes the Minister of Health reported that workers who
inhale fumes and impure air are showing an alarming rate of illness. The Cabinet,
therefore, encourages all workers who are exposed to conditions that are likely to
affect their lungs to wear protective masks, and to utilize other personal protective
equipment (PPEs) during the times when they are working.
This urging by the Minister is said to have preceded any knowledge of the death
and injury suffered by two workers at a cistern in Fitches Creek. The Government
of Antigua and Barbuda expresses its condolences to the family of the deceased,
and pray for a speedy recovery of the two workers who were injured.
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